JUNIOR BLOG (Fri): at last – a night session on the specimen lake!

WELCOME to our Friday blog. Every Friday we hand over to Carl and Alex Smith – known online as simply Carl & Alex.

These super keen youngsters have a passion for making a variety of fishing videos, and provide a youth dimension to our new blogging mix.

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ANY CATCH WOULD BE A RESULT… BUT I WAS DELIGHTED WITH THIS ONE!

I HAD been looking forward to a night of carping for quite a while but because of the freezing conditions I hadn’t managed to get out. However I had planned a night with my friend Kieran, at Tanyard Fishery in the middle of February.

We both arrived early as we wanted time to have a really good look around all the specimen lakes. We only really saw activity of fish on Speci 1. Also Steve, the bailiff, said most fish had been coming out of Speci 1.

So we brought our tackle round to a swim on the spit which goes out into the lake. The swim had deep and shallow water so a lot of options were to be had.

Firstly, I put out a zig rig as I could see fish up in the water passing through a thin gap between an island. I then got a bed of maggots down and cast a solid bag of maggots out to the baited spot. Kieran also put out a rod with maggots but in addition to this tried corn as a hook bait.

The night turned in and I changed my zig rig to a simple lead clip with a supple hook link and a single amber strawberry boilie on the hair. I then fed about 20 baits over the top. Suddenly, my bobbin on the rod with maggots shot to the rod and remained tight so I struck. But into nothing. I was gutted but at least I knew there was fish over the spot.

We cooked some sausages then settled down for the night. At about 10 o’clock Kieran had a phone call to say that one of his family had had to go to hospital so sadly he had to return home. We were both quite frustrated but oh well! That’s life!

Nothing happened in the night but a few bleeps which were probably liners. However I did see some fish feeding in the shallow bay that I had put boilies into the evening before. I quietly trickled in a few boilies to get the fish out the area so I could cast out. I lay the rod on a small bush and stood far back from the water and then watched fish move in and out of the bay.

Alex with his first upper double-figure carp

I saw a great big swirl then automatically looked at my rod which had bent right round and was pulling across the ground. I pick it up and felt a good heavy fish.

It pulled metres of line off the reel and went round and through loads of snags but thankfully managed to eventually get the fish back to me and ready to net.

I placed the net low down in the water in order not to spook the fish and then drew it back towards me and over the net. I lifted the net up and even though no one was there I shouted out ‘Yippee!’ I was so happy although it was a real shame that I couldn’t have shared my happiness with Kieran.

I fetched the mat and got the scales ready and the fish unhooked. It had taken a single amber strawberry boilie and looked like an upper double. It weighed in at 18lb 6oz – a stunning mirror and to catch it in winter made me even happier. I’ve caught bigger but this was still my first upper double carp.

I took some self-takes which is not the easiest thing in the world and released the stunning carp back in the bay where I had caught it from, watching it swim swiftly away. I was extremely happy that I had caught something.

It was now time to pack up and go home and as I walked back to the car I saw a few more carp on the spot I had baited. It was a shame that Kieran had to leave half way through our session but the stunning mirror had made it all worthwhile!